Imoke: C’River North’ll Produce My Successor

Story by CrossRiverWatch admin

By Jude Okwe

Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State weekend foreclosed the ambition of his political ally, Mr. Gershom Bassey, or any other politician from Cross River South
and Central Senatorial Districts succeeding him in 2015 when he said only the Northern Senatorial District has that right.

At an interactive forum with journalists in Calabar, the state capital, the governor put to rest the issue of where his successor would come from, saying it was only
natural that the Northern part of the state which is yet to produce a governor for the state should take its turn at the Government House.

Before now, there had been a conclusion that Bassey was going to succeed Imoke under the so-called ‘Three Wise Men’ political arrangement of Imoke, Bassey and Donald Duke for a 24-year leadership of the state on alternate basis. But that calculation seems to have been faulty given that both Duke and Bassey are from the South which had already taken a shot at the governance of the state in Duke.

“In Cross River State, we have three senatorial districts. Two have produced governors of the state. Will it be fair not to allow another senatorial district not to produce governor? At the national level, the North produced president, the same with the South-west and now South-south. We have to do the same here for reasons of equity. It is a natural thing.

“In all my politics, I have stood for fairness. I was one of those opposed to those who said an Efik man cannot become governor of Cross River State. I fought against it and thank God an Efik became governor of the state. The final seal on this matter is that the next governor of our state would come from the Northern Senatorial District”, Imoke stated.

Commenting on his position on state police, the governor said he was in total support of the agitation for state police because of the increasing crime rate in the country and the fact that the federal police had proved its inability to fight crime and criminals conclusively.

According to him, the incapability of the police was evident in the Boko Haram saga of the North, where the military had been drafted to assist in flushing out the
Islamic extremists and taking over flashpoints in the country that were usually manned by the police.

- by: Chief Alex Irek
- 12 years ago
it is a healthy development that the governorship condidate for PDP is going to the north…….also the ACN candidate will also be coming from the north. i an sceptical about the state police drawing from our experience with SIEC it may be miss used by some of the governors
- by: Chief Alex Irek
- 12 years ago
It is a healthy development that the governorship candidate for PDP will be produced by the north…..Also the ACN candidate will emerge from the northern part of the state. I am sceptical about the state police drawing from previous experience with SIEC it may be misused by some of the governors.
- by: Chief Alex Irek
- 12 years ago
It is a healthy development that tbe governorship candidate for PDP will be produced by the north……Also the ACN candidate will emerge from the northern part of the state. I am sceptical about the state police drawing from our previous experience with SIEC it may be misused by the governors.
- by: Lambert Agama
- 12 years ago
It’s very pathetic that people who are agitating for State Police have not proved to be trusted, competent to handle other state matters, yet they want the instrument of power so they can use it against those who voted them to power, can you imagine? Now there is no State police, see how they are policing as if they are God, it would be disastrous to hand over State police to them….
- by: Iyaji Ogede
- 12 years ago
This is a welcome development and it puts responsibility on the Northern political leaders to put their house in order. With the Presidential elections, the Northern aspirants emerged early in the race and they worked towards a consensus candidate. In order to realise the “dream” of a Governor from the Northern Senatorial district, a consensus candidate must also emerge as soon as possible.
- - by: Chris
  - 12 years ago
  Nigeria on its way to restoration.Gov. Donald Duke is still the only one goorenvr to my recollection thus far, who has not been tainted by any corrupt act, he is well educated andexprerienced first, in the private sector and now in publicadministration. He represents the best of the past Nigerian leaders “The secret of all those who make discoveries is that they regard nothing as impossible.” — Justus Liebig, renowned chemist in the 19th century
- by: Alphonsus Ogar Eba Esq
- 12 years ago
May God almighty who knows and sees the hearts of men seal the statement of his Excellency and make it a dream come true. I am a strong believer in the IMOKE developmental strides. I am not surprised that He has onceagain reiterated his commitment to equity and justice. At the risk of being doubtful,I want to state with respect that this laudable intention of the Governor may attract serious fight against him by thos politicians from the south and central senatorial district who may want to express their legitimate right to seek the peoples mandate and frustrate this dream. I therefore implore all cross riverians particularly people of Northern senatorial extraction to rally round the Governor to succeeed. May God bless my people
- - by: Carajean
  - 12 years ago
  I am forever indbeted to you for this information.
- by: Majuska
- 12 years ago
Thanks for the inisght. It brings light into the dark!